Comic books and others

Two nights ago, Josie became visibly upset at bedtime because she couldn't find her comic book. At first, I assumed that this was the latest phase in trying to be like her sister as comic books are something that Madeleine and Michael enjoy together. Eventually, though I realized that she wasn't saying 'comic book' but 'Carl book'.

Two weeks ago, Madeleine found 'Carl's Birthday' at a used book store so we purchased it for her and Josie. The following weekend, Madeleine found 'Carl Goes Shopping' at the library booksale and asked Michael to buy it for Josie. Josie likes them both a lot, but the second one has turned out into Josie's new favorite book. She asks for it every night, and becomes upset if she can't locate it. In turn, it's of course driving Madeleine, who likes a lot of variety at story time, crazy.

Another issue is that when Madeleine was small, we told her how the little girl in the books is named Madeleine. This isn't in every book, but is in at least one of them and Madeleine has an amazing memory. The first time we were 'reading' (the books are primarily pictures with just a few words on the opening page and 'Good Dog Carl' on the final one) one of our new Carl books, I started out and called the little girl the baby. Madeleine immediately said, "No, that's Madeleine" to which Josie, perhaps predictably responded "No, that's Josie." So there's that too - the girls warring over who is really in the book - Madeleine or Josie.

More pictures

Shelby, Spencer, Madeleine & Josie

at Rose Hall

Josie and Monkey enjoy an early a.m.

Madeleine goes to John and Bridgid's wedding, without her two front teeth.

California Dream

Madeleine and Josephine had a wonderful visit with our family in California. On our return, we quizzed Madeleine about her favorite part of the trip. I was thinking that she would answer swimming at the beach, but her answer was "Cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, Gigi, Aunt Kathy, Aunts, friends..." Since our return, Josie has taken to standing in front of the computer and demanding to see pictures of Papa - yesterday we printed her one of her, Chance, and Papa which she carried around all evening. It was great to see everyone.



Madeleine and Josie's grandparents were pretty busy with work (their busiest month of the year), but had a good time with the girls in the mornings and evenings. During the days, we had a lot of fun with Adrianne and her friend Anna at the beach and at the ranch, and a great time swimming at Avila Beach with all the cousins and Aunt Kim and Aunt Kathy. Thanks to some long naps our first two days there, Josie had a much easier time adapting to the time change which made the trip more pleasant for everyone.





It was a wonderful trip and both girls are already asking when their cousins arrive for a visit. Both their Jamaica cousins and some of their California cousins are coming to visit in August.

TGIF

On Friday afternoon, we ran into our friends Joanne, Matt, and Eve on the way home and ended up hanging out with them into the evening. Another great neighbor, Ellen, came by during the evening and took these pictures. It was a beautiful warm night, and the girls had a great time, as did the adults.

Up Two, down two

Josephine turned two a week and a half ago. She had a wonderful birthday. Her grandparents from California were in town for a visit and treated her to seemingly unlimited outdoor time. Her friends Connor and Samantha came over along with their family for a fun duck-themed party. And, her Nana gave her what may be her most prized toy: Itsy Bitsy Spiderman. After a harrowing first week with this toy, we've figured out how to adjust the volume and are much happier.

So, what is Josephine like at 2?

Josephine's loves:

1. Singing - Old MacDonald and Monkeys Jumping on the Bed are still at the top of the list...along with another song we've yet to identify. We've been interviewing Josie's preschool teachers to try to figure this out, but they're also not sure which song contains the lyrics "Mingo Domingo...Bop! Bop! Bop!"




2. Outside - Maybe it's just the springtime, but Josephine can't get enough of being outside. She loves the playground, walks, the backyard, and best of all, puddle stomping.




3. Monkey - Mostly, Monkey cuddles Josie at naptime and night, but she also sometimes wraps him in a blanket for a nice stroller ride around the downstairs or offers him a bit of toast and sip of milk. Monkey (or monkeys, if you want to get technical) is quite beloved.




4. Madeleine - Mostly, Josie refers to Madeleine as 'Sister' though her pronounciation of 'Madeleine' is improving. As Josie has developed her own preferences this year, Madeleine has had to make adjustments for another strong will in their games. But still, any game Madeleine is playing is one that Josie would like in on. If Josie is upset or apprehensive about something, she will go to Madeleine to be held and comforted...particularly if it's Michael or I that she's upset with.




5. Books and pictures - Josephine has a small bookcase in her room and a footstool that sits in front of it. Frequently, while I sort laundry or straighten up the bedrooms, Josie will go in, sit on her stool, and read her books. During their recent visit, Josephine and Madeleine's Grandma gave Josie several pictures of cousins, cows, and Grandma and 'Cow Papa' in their respective chairs. Josephine couldn't get enough of holding and looking at her pictures.

Madeleine is changing quickly too. As her kindergarten year winds down, it seems that she's making sudden and big leaps in reading and writing. Now, sometimes, she'll read a book title or phrase out loud...and then get shy when you point out that she read it herself. Her writing has also made a sudden shift and is quite neat and legible. She does still sometime mirror her letters, but once she gets one pointed in the correct direction the rest seem to follow.

As Madeleine's reading and writing take off, her speaking may be downshifting a bit. Last week, Madeleine lost both her front teeth a few days apart. While one front tooth started getting loose last summer, both held on for months. She lost the first at lunchtime and the actual tooth was never recovered though the toothfairy did accept her explanatory note. The second tooth hung on a few days longer until it dangled by a thread - below the level of her other teeth, off-center, and crooked. Finally, during lunch on Saturday, it too came out and she has a lovely gap in her front teeth. Her speaking is only affected a little, and she sounds awfully sweet.

Lost Monkey

On Saturday, we all went to Target to pick up a few items before our big trip this week: sun hats, birthday presents, and khakis. Josephine was sleeping when we got there, so I carefully lifted her out of the carseat and into her stroller. She woke of course, but did relax for a while taking in the sights as we did our shopping. At some point in the trip, she got out of the stroller and walked. Later when we were loading the car, I noticed that her beloved monkey was no longer with us. First I searched Target, then Madeleine and Michael executed a search. Finally, they left Josephine's name and number and a description of monkey at Lost & Found, but we haven't heard back.

Josephine asked for monkey several times on the ride home, and fortunately, we had two monkeys that rotate and so were able to give a monkey to Josie when we got home, but the entire incident scared Michael and I a bit. Josephine loves her monkey - she hugs him at night and in her carseat, gives him rides in the stroller, and strokes his tail to go to sleep or whenever she needs a little extra comfort. I just ordered two new 'Dangles' monkeys by Ty. We'll guard Josie's monkey extra carefully until the new ones arrive and can be gently weathered in the washing machine and dryer.

Madeleine recently brought home a school paper that she must have worked on close to Thanksgiving. The assignment asked students to write what they are thankful for and Madeleine had written 'Good people and my cusns.' Madeleine loved getting to see her cousins over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and is very much looking forward to seeing her cousins Shelby and Spencer in Jamaica this week. Actually, we all are - they (and their parents) are just fun to hang out with. Spencer's mom, Aunt Amy, took this photo of two gap-toothed cousins during their visit last summer.

Fever

When I picked Madeleine up at school yesterday, we walked out into the cold and Madeleine shivered and asked for her jacket. This was strange because while it was cold out, it's been cold out for the last 2 1/2 months and Madeleine hasn't ever wanted to wear her jacket before. Her reaction to proper outerwear can usually be described as resistant, and I'd given up insisting on it for the short walk from her school to our car. Shortly after we got home, Madeleine arrived shivering to the dinner table and asked if she could get a blanket during dinner. At that point, the gist of the situation did sink in and I took her temperature right after dinner - 101.2 underarm. Despite the fever though, she was happy and just wanted to be cozier and a bit quiet than usual.

While I was taking Madeleine's temperature, Josephine came over to the bed to watch and of course immediately wanted her temperature taken as well. She insisted on taking her shirt off and was fussing to get up onto the bed with Madeleine. Madeleine and I were trying to hold her off, supposing that she was going to try to take the thermometer before we were finished. When Josephine did make her way up though, she did something quite unexpected. She patted Madeleine gently and then leaned over to kiss her cheek a few times. We were all impressed with Josephine - that she understood that Madeleine wasn't feeling well and that she could be so gentle and caring to Madeleine.

This morning, Madeleine's fever was up again and she stayed home from school. Ironically, she was only going for a half day today anyway as her annual doctor's appointment is this afternoon. We're going to keep the appointment, and then likely will pick Josephine up a bit early at school.

This photo is from our trip to California over New Year's when we were driving from Los Osos to Oakland during torrential rains. Josephine slept for the entire drive, while Madeleine just napped a bit.